Policy Papers
2013
November 13, 2013
Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) - Economic Prospects and Policy Challenges for the GCC Countries
Description:
The global and regional economic environment remains challenging. Global growth remains tepid, and although some pick-up is expected, risks are tilted to the downside. Recent volatility in financial markets is having a significant impact on some large emerging markets, highlighting the challenges that will be faced in unwinding the Federal Reserve’s quantitative easing policy. Geopolitical uncertainties in the Middle East are also high.
Full text also available in Arabic.
November 12, 2013
Statement by the Managing Director on the Work Program of the Executive Board - Executive Board Meeting
Description: This document translates the policy priorities laid out in the Global Policy Agenda (GPA) and the IMFC communiqué into a work agenda for the Executive Board over the next six to twelve months.
November 5, 2013
Staff Guidance Note on the Application of the Joint Bank-Fund Debt Sustainability Framework for Low-Income Countries
Description: Low-income countries (LICs) face significant challenges in meeting their development objectives while at the same time ensuring that their external debt remains sustainable. In April 2005, the Executive Boards of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the International Development Association (IDA) endorsed the Debt Sustainability Framework (DSF), a tool developed jointly by IMF and World Bank staff to conduct public and external debt sustainability analysis in low-income countries. The DSF aims to help guide the borrowing decisions of LICs, provide guidance for creditors’ lending and grant allocation decisions, and improve World Bank and IMF assessments and policy advice.
October 12, 2013
Managing Director’s Global Policy Agenda to the International Monetary and Financial Committee
Description:
Over the past five years much has been done to avoid the worst and stave off a great depression. While the recovery has been disappointing until recently, there are some encouraging signs that activity is strengthening in advanced economies. Breaking the cycle of growth shortfalls and recurring market jitters requires carefully managing multiple transitions that are already underway. These transitions include the normalization of global financial conditions; a shift in global growth dynamics, and a rebalancing of global demand; and the completion of reforms to the international financial system. Much more ambitious reform implementation and policy coherence are needed to address these challenges and avoid five more years of growth disappointments.
The Executive Summary is also available in
Arabic , Chinese, French, Japanese, Russian , and Spanish.
October 12, 2013
Provisional Agenda for the Twenty-Eighth Meeting of the International Monetary and Financial Committee
Description: The following is the provisional agenda for the Twenty-Eight Meeting of the International Monetary and Financial Committee, which is to be convened at the IMF's Headquarters in Washington, D.C. on October 12, 2013.
October 9, 2013
Progress Report on the Activities of the Independent Evaluation Office
Description:
This report summarizes the activities of the Independent Evaluation Office of the IMF (IEO) in the period since April 2013.
October 8, 2013
Arab Countries in Transition - Economic Outlook and Key Challenges - Deauville Partnership Ministerial Meeting
Description: In an environment of heightened socio-economic tensions, regional insecurity, and strained public finances, the Arab Countries in Transition (ACTs) 1 face the difficult task of delivering on the expectations for jobs and growth. Despite patchy improvements in some countries, economic growth remains subdued, private investment is weak, and external and fiscal buffers are running low. Fostering social cohesion and avoiding a downward spiral of economic and political malaise calls for urgent implementation of economic reforms and coordinated support from the international community.
October 7, 2013
Safeguards Assessments - 2013 Update
Description: The safeguards policy, introduced in 2000, is designed to reduce the risks of misuse of Fund resources and misreporting of program monetary data to the Fund. It supports the Fund’s approach to prudent lending and complements other safeguards, including program design, conditionality, and access limits. Safeguards assessments are required for almost all member countries seeking Fund financing, and are followed by a period of monitoring for as long as Fund credit is outstanding.
October 4, 2013
Report on Fiscal Safeguards Pilots
Description: This paper reports on the results of a pilot exercise on fiscal safeguards conducted by the Fiscal Affairs Department (FAD) during FY2013. The exercise was launched following an independent review of the existing safeguards policy in 2010 in which many Directors encouraged staff to highlight fiscal safeguards risks in cases where a substantial portion of the resources provided by the Fund for balance of payments support is channeled to state treasuries for budget purposes. Pilot fiscal safeguards exercises were conducted for five countries: Antigua and Barbuda, Cyprus, Greece, Ireland, and Kyrgyz Republic.
October 4, 2013
Unification of Discount Rates Used in External Debt Analysis for Low-Income Countries
Description: This paper proposes reforms to the discount rates used by the Bank and the Fund to (a) calculate the present value (PV) of the external debt of low-income countries (LICs) in debt sustainability analyses (DSAs) and (b) to calculate the grant element of individual loans. Consistent with the conclusions of the March 2013 review of the Fund’s debt limits policy, the paper proposes a single uniform discount rate to be used for these related operational purposes. It has been prepared as a joint product of Bank and Fund staff, with the exception of the decision, which is Fund-specific.